was constant, on occasions increasing, because of the continuous climate of conflict in the colonies. Agitation in Ireland, never far below the surface, was to find expression at this time in what became known as the Land War (1879–82), a period which saw the country gripped by a new wave of agrarian unrest. In the late 1870s, improvements in transatlantic transport led to European markets being flooded with a supply of cheap grain, causing a drop in prices paid to Irish farmers. A disastrous wet season in 1877 led to a further failure of the potato crop, causing more hardship. Unable to pay rents, small farmers throughout the country were evicted by unscrupulous landlords. The spectre of famine was, once again, beginning to raise its head as oppressed tenants found their already difficult struggle for daily survival becoming intolerable. In 1879, a member of the Fenian Brotherhood, Michael Davitt, who had spent many years in British prisons, set up an organization known as the Land League, dedicated to assisting farmers in their struggle against landlords and their often over-zealous agents. Davitt organized large public meetings to galvanize support for his efforts and to put pressure on landlords, one of the biggest such gatherings – ‘an especially large assembly’ – taking place on the Curragh plain. Officially, the League did not condone violence, but among its members were a number of men belonging to agrarian secret societies who displayed few qualms about using force to achieve their objectives. Some of the ‘big houses’ were burned, crops and livestock destroyed and, in some cases, landlords killed. The army was, once again, called upon to act in the role of police. The role required troops to be split into small detachments, contrary to the military principle of concentrating on strength to ensure maximum effect, and the tasks undertaken by the military at this time included providing escorts for prisoners and personal protection for sheriffs, bailiffs and landlords, assisting at forced evictions, guarding jails and attending public gatherings in order to prevent breaches of the peace. The military authorities always supplied the necessary troops when requested to do so by their civilian counterparts, but they could not conceal their dislike of the tasks involved. While stationed in Ireland, British units often became subsumed into the evolving history of the country, which saw the army acting in a police capacity. One result was the reintroduction by the army of ‘flying columns’ which were sent to areas to quell unrest that had erupted or threatened. And though order might be restored, an anti-English feeling remained and proved fertile ground for sedition. The list of lingering wrongs was lengthening.
Chapter 3
By the Turn of the Century
The Camp Rebuilt
Progress comes with practice, and an army’s primary role is to train. Wars and conflicts interrupt training and exercising: the teaching and tutoring of tactics, the practising of square and ground drills. However, the post-Cardwell reformed British army was a more efficient one, better structured and organized. Now enlarged with a new regimental system, more professionally commanded and with soldiers who were younger and of a better character, the army was able, despite the heavy demands of conflicts in the colonies and occasions of police duty in Ireland, to continue large-scale formation training. The approach to training was now cognizant of the lessons learned from the Crimea and from the American Civil and Franco-Prussian wars. Each, both separately and combined, illustrated the effects of improvements in firearms in the field. More powerful, accurate, longer-range rifles in the hands of a well-trained infantry had created a firepower that was becoming increasingly lethal, particularly against the traditional cavalry charge.
The point is well illustrated by war correspondent William Russell as he observed the actions of the 93rd Highlanders, the ‘thin red line’ positioned on the crest of Kadihoi Hill at Balaclava during the Crimean War:
The silence is oppressive; between the cannon bursts one can hear the champing of bits and clink of sabres in the valley below. The Russians on their left drew breath for a moment, and then in one grand line dashed at the Highlanders. The ground flies beneath their horses’ feet, gathering speed at every stride, they dash on towards that thin red streak topped with a line of steel.
The frontal volley fire from the Highlanders’ new Minié rifles, which were more precise and had a heavier ball (bullet), hindered the Russian cavalry’s momentum; they then veered towards the Highlanders’ left, hoping to attack on the flank where infantry were fatally vulnerable to cavalry assault. A quick manoeuvre by Captain Ross’s Grenadier Company saw them wheel round towards them and pour volley after volley into their flank instead. Broken, the Russian cavalry withdrew and, as they retreated, artillery fire put the issue beyond doubt. The days of the classic cavalry charge were becoming numbered. Light cavalry was to maintain a role for raiding, reconnoitring and providing escort duties as well, of course, as engaging in dismounted action. The introduction of the cavalry carbine, which was shorter and faster-loading, was a definite improvement, and a new emphasis on flexibility of manoeuvre combined with dismounted action were underlined by the Cavalry Regulations of 1876 which saw a broadening of cavalry drill and training. Indeed, the requirement for a more all-purpose cavalry which evolved during the colonial wars in Egypt and Sudan, those ‘little wars’ of empire, saw an eventual abolition in 1899 of cavalry equipped and organized as light and heavy, although lancers were to linger a little longer. Re-armed and re-organized, the real role of cavalry was moulded into a mounted infantry, reflecting the new battlefield realities learned from the Crimean War and colonial conflicts.
Tents of the 1st Royals, Curragh Camp, 1859, with the 10th Regiment marching in, viewed from Athgarven Lodge (courtesy of the National Library of Ireland).
Cavalry training on the Curragh plain had to be greatly modified to take account of modern tactics developed in response to modern weaponry. The cavalry was supported by the artillery, which also provided covering fire to manoeuvring infantry. By its nature, a cavalry was mobile, a characteristic also required of the artillery, and hence the role of horse artillery which had to keep pace and apply fire-power where and when needed. The artillery which, up to now, had been assembled on an ad hoc basis was to have its own permanent establishment from this point on with individual units allotted their own provision of personnel, guns, equipment and horses. Their guns were to develop but, consequently, they became heavier and less mobile; the situation was only solved later by further modification to make them lighter and more mobile. Whatever the weight, their steady improvement in range and fire-power was constant, to such an extent that the Curragh became unsuitable for artillery training and alternative locations had to be sought; the Glen of Imaal in Co Wicklow was finally deemed the most suitable.
It was important that a military establishment such as the Curragh, which played a central role in enacting British military policy, should be modernized to keep up with the changing times. The camp had a central role within the empire, firstly as a reminder to the host nation that it was the camp of an occupying army, one of whose tasks was to ensure that Ireland remained firmly in the imperial realm and, secondly, as a training depot for troops that were required for duty in what had become the largest and most widespread empire the world had ever seen, stretching over a quarter of the globe and containing 370 million people. In 1897 the British army had 200,000 soldiers, 718 field guns and 26,000 horses; 100,000 soldiers were at home, 70,000 in India and 30,000 in the colonies (including Malta, Gibraltar, Egypt, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, the West Indies, Bermuda and Canada). Of the army’s fifty battalions overseas, twenty-three were in Ireland, the remainder – twenty-seven – in the rest of the colonies. In essence, the British army in Ireland was an army of occupation, busy training for its ‘wars of peace’ elsewhere in the world.
A massive construction programme was begun to radically upgrade the camp’s infrastructure and facilities. It began to be substantially rebuilt over the last three decades of the nineteenth century, with seven barracks replacing the previous ten, and red-brick buildings replacing the old wooden and concrete structures. Although its appearance was to
